Paul Batchelor says he was on the roof of his house when the fire changed direction.

"I was just up there when the change came through. It went really dead for a minute or three and then all of a sudden the smoke changed direction and started coming for us, and the breeze picked up," he said.

"It came straight over the ridge and came toward us and at that moment we knew we had to go, because, well, I've never experienced anything like that."

Bangor farmer Peter Pole lost more than 517 of his prized sheep in the blaze as it swept quickly across his property.

"It was a towering inferno, because it came out of the pines I don't know how high that wall of flame was coming directly at us," he said.

"We do have insurance for fodder and fencing, and the sheep themselves are insured."

The flames came within metres of Margo Blesing's vineyard in Bangor, but she says this year's vintage has been ruined by the smoke.

"You could see it come up over the hill but the trouble was it was spotting, so all of a sudden there were fires raging across the top of the hill there," she said.

Volunteer firefighters praised for 'extraordinary, courageous effort'

Mr Weatherill was full of praise for the thousands of local CFS volunteers and the 330 interstate firefighters who flew in to assist.

"An extraordinary effort. A courageous effort in the face of a very frightening fire," he said.

"They're dedication and skill meant many losses were averted. In particular, there has been no loss of life and we've saved many homes and buildings and protected many properties that would otherwise have been lost."

A relief centre has been set up at Cambrai on the Murray Plains for those affected by the Eden Valley bushfire.

Russell Peate from the Mid Murray Council says landowners will receive assistance.

"We will have a relief coordinator ... going around to all the landowners affected so that we will ascertain all the assistance they need, be it fencing, be it revegetation, be it agistment or be it food assistance," he said.